To say it wasn't awkward would be an understatement. Renegade glanced at the rearview mirror and out the corner of his eye as he drove through the streets of Gotham City. Why they were being stationed there was beyond his comprehension. You would assume that a villain would try to stay away from a city guarded by not just one, but a whole family of superheroes led by Batman. Putting Renegade, one of the most wanted criminals in the world, in a city filled with detectives was not a bad idea, it is the worst idea you could possibly come up with.
There were other reasons why Renegade wished they had chosen a different city, but right now was not a time to be getting sad. Renegade focused on the road ahead, his necklace dangling on his neck hidden underneath his shirt, banishing further thoughts from his mind.
Red Hood grumbled from the passenger side seat. It has been quiet, deadly quiet, since they left the airport. He started messing with the dials on the radio, changing the station. News, news, more news, an amber alert, static, and a folk music station. Red Hood growled, shutting off the music before it could give him a headache.
The memory from earlier played in his mind.
Flashback
"Once you land, there will be a car waiting for you. The GPS is programmed with the safe house's location. The keys to the car will be above the driver side visor. Along with the key to the safe house," Deathstroke said, mostly towards Renegade.
"You must maintain radio silence at all times. This number is solely for emergencies," Talia said, handing a burner phone to Red Hood who put it into his pocket.
"Any questions?" Deathstroke asked. Renegade stayed quiet knowing that Deathstroke wasn't really asking. Red Hood and Damian shook their heads.
Deathstroke slapped his hand across the whip marks on Renegade's back as he walked by. His eyes watered as he bit his lip to stop the whimper that threatened to escape. Pain flared down his back causing his other injuries to ache in response. A warmth flowed down his back.
Deathstroke said nothing, but his actions said everything. That was a preview of what his punishment would entail.
End of Flashback
They had all taken turns changing on the plane. Renegade took the longest out of the three of them. He half-turned, looking at the bloody bandages covering his back in the mirror of the bathroom. Fresh blood soaked the once white fabric. He reached down untying the end and slowly unwrapped the bandages, wincing when the bandage pulled on the scabs from where the blood had fused the fabric to his wounds. He threw the bloody bandage into the trash. Renegade sighed looking sullenly at the bruises and scars that littered his torso, grabbing a new roll of gauze.
It didn't take but a minute to rewrap his back. He put on a blue t-shirt, jeans and a black jacket on, covering the bandages. He unlocked the metal mask over his mouth, rubbing his jaw a little in discomfort. His eye mask was already removed when he first entered the bathroom. He dropped them both into the backpack at his feet. His duffle bag had been lost when the fire had spread to the building Renegade had been staying in.
Richard didn't look at the duo, who were dressed normally for once, as he passed them towards his seat. He could feel them looking at him seeing his face for the first time. They soon turned away going back to their conversation.
Once the plane hit the tarmac, Richard followed his master's instructions quickly finding a small black, inconspicuous car in a parking garage down the street. It was easy to find since it was the only one parked on that level, however convenient that was. Then the rest is history.
Richard pulled into a parking spot, shutting off the car. He got out, shutting the door behind him, staring in disbelief at the building. He heard car doors shut behind him.
"That is one way to stay inconspicuous. The league couldn't afford something nicer," Damian grumbled to himself, his distaste clearly shown of his face. Red Hood nodded in agreement.
Richard grabbed his bag out of the trunk, letting them grab theirs as well, then locked the car behind them. Richard walked up the steps to the front door, holding it open for Red Hood and Damian. He quickly spotted the stairs and the elevator with a giant yellow sign saying "Out of Order" in giant bold letters. He walked around the opposite side of the stairs where the hallway was. There was a backdoor to the building leading into an alley. He found the mail slot holders.
Dick pulled out the keys out of his pocket, selecting the one with the number 13 on it, and finding the slot with the matching number. He opened the mailbox and pulled out a white envelope. He turned it over not seeing a return address or anything else written on it. Richard opened the bulging envelope, inside was a wad of cash. It was enough to get them through the month.
"Hey, come on. We are not waiting in the lobby all day so that you can explore," Red Hood shouted slash whispered to him. Dick rolled his eyes pulling the money in his backpack, walking back towards the small group.
They stepped into the apartment of their new home. Damian wrinkled his nose at the distrubed dust that floated around them. The dust tickled Dick's nose.
He walked in, taking in the surroundings. The apartment was covered in cobwebs, dust bunnies, grime on the counters.
Dick grabbed a chair dragging it behind him, placing it beneath the light fixture. He stepped up onto it before checking the light.
Damian stared at him confused. "What are you doing?"
He ran his hand along every crevice and looked in every spot that you could hide something.
Dick frowned as he ran his hand over a small irregular bump. He picked at it until it popped loose, falling into his hand. It was a small, shiny black dot about the size of a button. He held it up, showing it to the pair before jumping down from his chair and dropping it onto the ground, crushing it with his heel.
"Great, a camera. I'll go check the bedrooms and bathrooms." Red Hood scowled, walking down the hall. Damian grabbed his bag off the floor, following Red Hood down the hall. Dick nodded, beginning to look through the cabinets for any listening devices and other cameras. He took note of what food they had as he went. Most of what little bit of the food there was is canned and a quick glance at the date told him that the place hadn't been restocked in quite some time. He made a metal note that they needed to go to the store something soon.
He grimaced, at the date on the cereal and a couple other items. He pulled them out to sit on the counter to throw away later, once he had found the trash can.
He finished looking through the kitchen and the living room, finding one more camera in the corner. He destroyed it, picking up the pieces, dumping them in the pile of the other remains of the growing trash pile on the counter.
Dick stared at the refrigerator afraid of what he would find in there. He carefully opened the door, peeking inside. The food inside couldn't even be considered food anymore. He backed up a little, he swore he saw something move.
Dick rummaged through the drawers, smiling as he found a small notebook and pen. He flipped to a new page, starting a grocery list. He quickly wrote down a few must needed items. He looked up
"I found a camera in each of the bedrooms, none in the bathrooms, thankfully. So, be careful of where you get changed cause whoever these cameras belong to is definitely a creep. Also, we've got a small problem," Red Hood said coming into the kitchen where Dick was. Dick tilted his head to the side with a questioning look on his face. "There are only two bedrooms and three of us. Damian has already claimed one of the bedrooms as his."
"You guys can have the beds, I'll just sleep on the couch," Dick said. The couch was worn down and could probably use a bath. It wouldn't be that different than what he was used to.
"Suit yourself," Red Hood said, joining Dick in the kitchen. He glanced questionly at the items taking up most of the counter space. Red Hood cautiously picked up the milk jug opening it before Dick could stop him. He leaned in slightly, smelling it, and immediately shot back, screwing the lid on tightly gagging as he did so. Dick watched him as he did so with a horrified expression on his face, waving his hand in front of his face while pinching his nose, trying to get rid of the foul smell of over spoiled milk consumed the air.
How milk could smell over spoiled he didn't know, but there wasn't a less disgusting way to describe it.
"Okay, yea that has got to go. Where the hell is that garbage can?" Red Hood said, searching through the cabinets. When he came up empty, he started looking everywhere before spotting a closet door off to the side. He walked into the room and out with a trash can in his hand.
"Found it, thank god," Red Hood said, shoving the old and moldy food off the counter into the wastebasket.
"Alright, now that this is done. Is there anything left for supper?" He said, seeing at what was left of the food.
"A little, but I'll make a trip to the grocery store in the morning," Dick said. Red Hood gave him a look that said "I wasn't talking to you'. Dick was startled, not enough to show it, at the glare sent his way, that was what he got for trying to be nice.
Red Hood pulled out his phone walking away, looking up takeout restaurants. There was a pizza place not too far from them that delivered. He clicked on the link before ordering. The kid could deal tonight since there wasn't really another option and he could care less of what Renegade thought.
It took a few minutes to place the order and a little longer to get it. Damian threw a little fit. Otherwise the rest of the night was silent. Red Hood and Damian retired to their rooms, removing the comforters and pillow cases first before falling asleep.
Dick stood alone silently cleaning up the mess they had left. He didn't bother changing as he sat down on the couch. He quickly stood up coughing as dust suffocated him.
He laid an extra blanket, he found lying around, over the dust ridden couch before laying down, resting his head on his arm. Dick soon fell asleep.
He woke up breathing heavily doused in a light sweat. He groaned, it was about three in the morning. Way too early to be awake. He listened to the quiet, dirty apartment. He sighed, standing up. Might as well do something, he thought rolling up his sleeves.
The sun shined brightly through the windows. Dick let a tiny grin grace his lips. The apartment actually wasn't bad looking, a little tidying up and it would be a nice little place. He turned towards the footsteps coming from down the hall.
The duo stopped at the edge of the room, staring at the apartment in shock. Dick has spent the last four and a half hours cleaning every inch of the living room, kitchen, and hallway as much as he could without waking up the other boys.
He looked back at the apartment. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
Here is chapter 5. Hope you all like it! If you have any ideas for chapters, I would love to hear them!Anyway, please comment and like. Have a Great day everyone!